Category:
Buyer Tips

Downtown Manhattan as seen from the Empire State Building - Photo by Tony Sargent (C) 2014

The Manhattan real estate market is picking up again in the luxury sector. While there was a slight lull in the summer between mid-June and July by August properties that had been on the market for a month or two started going to contract. While I was in in San Francisco in July at Inman Connect’s real estate conference speaking on a luxury panel, I heard that the mid-luxury levels in San Francisco and Los Angeles had also been slow for a month or more. Was the market turning?

Traditionally the Fall market in New York is our secondary market – Buyers who did not have a chance to secure a property in the robust spring market re-enter market again in the Fall after a summer off.

I believe the Fall market started early this year – in August. The intense seller’s market for the first six months of the year lead to a slower June and July because of buyer fatigue. Added to that, listing inventory while having climbed somewhat in the 2nd quarter of 2014 over the 1st quarter was still well below the 5-year averages making it more challenging for buyers to find the properties they hoped for – rather than continuing a seemingly futile effort they stopped. (Read Streeteasy’s July Condo Report here)

As a result, in my view the level of pent-up demand is still extremely high. The buyers who are willing to step up and make a quick decision and not sweat the small stuff with regards to negotiations will buy properties this fall. Those buyers who are choosy and question every aspect of the deal or contract will be a disadvantage in negotiations.

For the buyers who’ve decided to stay put in their current homes until ‘the right one’ shows up some will (like many before them) choose instead to stay put and to invest in a country or Hamptons home to provide the escape from Manhattan.

What I’m seeing in the first two weeks of September is that the mid to high-end luxury market is very strong and contracts are getting signed on new properties and those which had seen showings but no contracts. Listings that I have been following as well as new developments also reported signed contracts in the first 19 days of September. For me August was very busy with properties that went to contract including 30 Bond, Penthouse and 200 Eleventh Avenue after multiple bids.

In the luxury development market new properties have started to be announced for the fall market. The face of New York’s residential real estate is changing, as is the design and height limits. With super tall sky-scrapers coming to the city, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the world’s global elite in terms of luxury offerings in the future. It’s an exciting period in residential design.

November sunrise over the West Village | Photo by Tony Sargent (C) 2013

This morning I awoke to this spectacular dawn. The opportunity to experience nature as art in our city of steel and concrete is unique and why a New York view costs more.

Ten years ago, buying my first apartment in New York I looked for three months. When I first started looking, the dream apartment I hoped for was bigger and less expensive than the reality turned out to be. Maintenance would be lower. Then I started looking. Read more…

While 2013 has seen Manhattan luxury real estate flying off the market the larger story is that every great 1 to 3-bedroom apartment has 3+ buyers desiring to buy it. Here are 6 reasons why this trend is sustainable:

Manhattan apartment stock is approximately 70% rental. With only 30% of apartments for sale there is already a built in potential for inventory shortage as society becomes increasingly affluent and established. Also while only 25% of apartments are condominiums/new developments, they accounted for approximately 50+% of all sales in the boom years, foreshadowing today’s re-sale inventory shortage. Additionally, co-op owners stay in their units longer than condo owners putting enormous pressure on existing re-sale inventory.

New development construction dried up for five years starting in 2008. Today most new developments are aimed at the high-end market and priced at $2,000+ per square foot leaving overall mid-level re-sale inventory at 12-15 year lows.

As newly minted Social Media and Internet entrepreneurs join the growing ranks of the global “1%” and baby boomers buying in New York, while Wall Street performance continues to be a barometer of the strength of Manhattan’s market, in 2013 the market has become less dependent on Wall Street’s middle level employee bonuses to remain strong.

Lifestyle & Safety = people-friendly, family-friendly and senior-friendly. The safety of Manhattan and New York (look at Brooklyn) has grown exponentially with computer-modeled policing and development of areas once seen as off-limits. Long-time residents mingle with baby-strollers as families decide to remain in New York. The great cultural lifestyle offered in Manhattan is drawing back wealthy baby-boomers to Manhattan from the suburbs while keeping those who would have left 20 years ago, in the city longer.

High Rents and low mortgage rates continue to drive buyers of all price points back to the sales market.

TV, Innovation & Tech: Entertainment filmed in New York adds to the city’s appeal to people, globally.

A beacon for leading creative or financial professionals, as well as global entrepreneurs desiring to make a splash, all arrows are pointing up again in New York.

In 2012 I sold a Tribeca loft to my client after we won a five-way multiple bid. Staying in touch as I do with most of my clients, I was surprised to hear in April that my client was transferring to California for work and needed to sell. With high transaction costs it was hard to predict the final outcome but 2013 has been a record-breaking year for large luxury homes in Tribeca and this unit was not an exception.

As a luxury real estate expert with an international upbringing, my view is global. Since 2006 I’ve attended and spoken at some of the top real estate seminars in California and thus know many of the southern California’s top brokers by name and have a clear sense of each of their knowledge base and area of expertise.

After connecting my client with one of my top West-LA brokers with a similar design aesthetic and film background as my clients, I flew to LA and we toured nine houses from Malibu to Silver Lake in one day, having prepped my West Coast broker with insight about my my clients’ aesthetic and needs. Last week, my clients moved to California super happy to move into their new Malibu home, which we toured together in May – Thrilling also because I negotiated an over-ask offer for their Manhattan loft sale in one day after helping them finalize staging it.

I’m delighted to share that today, Thursday, February 28th at 6:30pm EST, HGTV’s Selling New Yorkwill air a new episode featuring my clients, an international couple, facing a true New York real estate challenge. The couple and their 3-year old daughter welcome twin boys into the family. Sarah and her husband quickly realize their 2-bedroom Bowery condo is too small. Prices on 3-bedroom lofts are rising fast, but they must sell their current home to be able to buy. Read more…

Christopher Anand of the Tavistock Group shares successful tips for investing in Luxury Real Estate. Tavistock’s successful investment strategies provide insight into why global high net worth individuals (HNWI’s) invest in New York luxury real estate (condos and townhouses) in Manhattan. Anand’s tips and Tavistock’s strategies agree with a recent Knight Frank Wealth Report revealing that along with equities, HNWI’s are purchasing Art, Wineries, Sports Teams along with other non-paper investments as part of an overall strategy to have more protected investment portfolios. Contact me for your New York luxury real estate needs. – Tony Sargent

The Wall Street Journal reported that multiple bids are stunning condo apartment buyers from New York to Miami and homebuyers in California. A lack of inventory compared to demand has been especially evident in New York luxury real estate for over a year. Now multiple bids are occurring on entry-level properties both in Manhattan and in other areas of the country. 3 years ago Miami’s condo market was languishing and its huge inventory remained unsold. Today, between local and foreign investors (namely Brazilian) there is only a 4.1 month supply (34% decline in inventory – see chart below).

In Manhattan while demand for the super-luxury market ($5+ million) has slowed slightly compared to a year ago, fast-increasing rents and low interest rates have lead to the highest level of Read more…